One of the smartest and most rewarding ways to turn your savings into a monthly income is through income properties. This means purchasing a property specifically so that you can rent it out. While you may have a mortgage on that property, you can use the income you receive to service that debt, and you can retain whatever is left as profit. The only downside to investment properties is that you need to maintain and ensure that your property is attractive to tenants. The worst thing that can happen when you own a rental property is having to endure excessive property vacancy. To ensure that your property remains appealing, follow this guide on how to maintain your properties:
Have a Repairman
When you rent out a property, you need to go in with the assumption that things are going to break. That is why you not only have to make sure that the appliances on your property are functioning, you also need to have a dedicated repairman who will come out if your tenants ever have a problem. Paying for emergency plumbing will be a lot cheaper than dealing with your entire property flooding, for instance. Do regular maintenance checks as well – the last thing you or your tenants want are for your appliances or plumbing to stop working.
Ensure That It’s Dry
Ensure that your house is dry and sealed. This is important whether the utilities are included or not. When you have drafts coming in through your doors and windows (and even rooves) you’re inviting mould and rot into your income property. These issues can cost a lot of money and drive away good tenants if they’re not dealt with appropriately.
Have a Property Manager
Managing properties is difficult work, especially if you don’t live near the properties in question. That is why you need to hire property management services, so that not only are your tenants well taken care of, you can keep a better eye on the state of your properties.
Rent Out to the Best Tenants
To rent out to the best tenants you must present your property well. To do this, have bright, professional photos on the listing that show your entire property. As a bonus, add a floorplan so that you can get a good deal of interested tenants that know what the property is like before they have even been to view it. Once you have your applicants, vet them properly to make sure that not only can they pay the rent, they are also not likely to damage your property beyond the expected and acceptable wear and tear.
Give it a Face Lift
If you want to keep your property attractive and bringing in money each month, you need to put money back into it. This means repainting the property every so often, redoing the floors, and fixing obvious signs of wear and tear. The more updated and clean a property is, the more likely you are to continue to rent out the property month after month.
You need to maintain your property to make sure that the state of the property is acceptable. You also need to maintain the property so that you can rent it out to the best tenants. Together, you’ll have a great rental property that will bring you money month after month!